Recipes

Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

Soul to Belly Turkey Brine

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups apple cider or apple juice
  • 2 gallons of water
  • The peels of 3 oranges 
  • 3 big sprigs of rosemary 
  • 5 cloves of garlic 
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 5 whole bay leaves
  • 3 tbls mixed peppercorns (or black peppercorns if you can't find the blend)

  • 1 ½ cups kosher salt

Instructions: 

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and stir to make sure the salt and sugar have dissolved.
  2. Turn the heat off and allow it to cool completely. 
  3. Put your turkey in a vessel large enough to fit it or use a brining bag and pour the cooled brine in with the turkey. 
  4. Refrigerate for 16-24 hours.
  5. Remove the turkey from the brine and soak it in fresh, cool water for 10-15 minutes to remove the excess salt. 
  6. Take your turkey out of the soaking bath and pat it dry. 
  7. Continue to our Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe! 

 

 

Thanksgiving Turkey

Soul to Belly Thanksgiving Turkey

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 Turkey -12lbs (feeds 8-10)
  • Soul to Belly Black Garlic Seasoning Salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Black Garlic, lemon, parsley compound butter (recipe below)
  • 2 small onions, peeled and halved
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
  • 6 bay leaves
  • olive oil, to drizzle
  • 5-8 strips of smoked bacon

 Instructions: 

  1. Preheat your oven to 425° and allow your compound butter to come to room temperature and soften. 
  2. Pat your turkey completely dry and season the inside cavity and the outside with Black Garlic Salt and fresh cracked pepper. 
  3. Slide your hand gently between the skin and meat to loosen it a little but be careful not to break the skin! It takes a gentle hand and some finesse to get work your way over the breast and down to the thighs. 
  4. Grab small handfuls of the compound butter and push it under the skin. You can use your hand outside of the skin to push and press the butter around to evenly distribute it. 
  5. Rub the rest of the butter all over the outside of the turkey and place in your roasting pan. 
  6. Put the onions, lemons, garlic, and bay leaves into the cavity of the turkey and tie the legs together with cooking twine. 
  7. Flip the wing tips behind the "neck" to keep everything nice and tucked in. 
  8. Drizzle some olive oil over the turkey to keep the butter from burning and place in the oven breast side up for 10 minutes to get a quick browning. 
  9. After 10 minutes, drop the oven temperature to 350. 
  10. Cover the breast of the turkey with the bacon strips, baste the legs, and place back in the oven. 
  11. Baste every 30 minutes for 2 -2½ hours. (Every oven is a little different, so if you know yours runs hot, then make sure to check the internal temp sooner) 
  12. If the legs get too brown, tent some foil over them for the rest of the cook. 
  13. When the juices run clear, take your turkey out of the oven and rest it for at least an hour! The longer you rest it, the juicier it can be. 

 

Black Garlic, Lemon, and Parsley Compound Butter

 Black Garlic Lemon Parsley Compound Butter

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup of Parsley, finely chopped
  • 12 oz unsalted butter, softened  
  • 2 lemons – ( you’ll need the zest and juice from both lemons)
  • 3 regular garlic cloves (peeled, and finely grated)
  • 2 tsp Black Garlic Cooking Paste
  • 1 tsp Olive oil
  • 1 ½ tsp salt

Instructions: 

  1. Leave the butter out at room temperature while you prep your ingredients, so it gets nice and soft. The softer the butter, the easier it is to mix!
  2. Finely chop your parsley and put it into a bowl big enough for you to combine and easily mix all ingredients.
  3. Zest both lemons, juice them, and combine them with the herbs and garlic. (It’s always easier to zest before you juice)
  4. Grate the garlic cloves into the bowl.
  5. Add the black garlic, oil, salt, and softened butter and mix to combine!
  6. You can store it in a container or use plastic wrap to form a log.

 

 

Jerk Chicken

black garlic jerk chicken on grill

Ingredients:

  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 scallions, roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 2 scotch bonnets, roughly chopped (3 if you want more spice)
  • Juice of 1 orange, or 1/3 cup of high-quality orange juice
  • 1 inch of ginger, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbl Allspice 
  • 1 tbl Five Spice
  • 1 tbl fresh thyme or 1 tsp dry thyme
  • 1 heaping tbl Black Garlic Paste 
  • 2 tsp black garlic salt
  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (low sodium allows better control of salt content) 
  • 1 tbl Vegetable oil
  • 8-12 Bone in, skin on chicken thighs

 

Instructions: 

  1. Put all ingredients, except for the chicken, in a blender or food processor and gently blend or pulse to make a paste. Make sure the top of the blender is on so you don’t splatter your whole kitchen...(Speaking from personal experience.)
  2. Pour marinade into a bowl and add chicken. To protect yourself from touching the scotch bonnets, you can wear gloves for this next part.
  3. Mix and rub super well, like the chicken has had a rough day and needs a deep tissue massage. Make sure you also get the marinade under the skin. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
  4. Prepare a grill for medium direct heat. Grill chicken skin side down first and flip every 10 minutes until chicken hits 165 Degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. Remove chicken from the grill and rest for 7-10 minutes.
  6. Enjoy it with your favorite Jamaican side dishes! We love rice and peas!

 

 

 

 

 

Ultra Garlic Chicken

*This is a really simple and quick way to enjoy chicken! We suggest serving it sliced or chopped over your favorite salad or alongside your favorite starch (potatoes, polenta, etc.) and veggies.  Keep in mind, the thicker you have your chicken, the longer it takes to bake. That’s why ¼ inch is perfect for shorter cook times!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Chicken breasts
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Ultra Garlic Powder

 

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400° (425° for electric ovens).
  2. Pound out the chicken breasts until about ¼ inch thick. If the chicken is really thick, you can butterfly the breast and then pound them out to the correct thickness.
  3. Place chicken on a baking sheet, and drizzle with just enough oil to coat them all over.
  4. Season with salt, pepper, and sprinkle that beautiful Ultra Garlic Powder all over! Rub the seasoning in so it coats the chicken evenly.
  5. Place in oven and bake for 10- 12 minutes, until internal temp reaches 160°, rest for 5-10 minutes and then enjoy your ultra yummy chicken!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pasta with Sausage and Cream Sauce 

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground sausage 
  • 1 small Chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • Fresh ground black pepper 
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
  • 2 tsp black garlic paste
  • 1cup heavy whipping cream 
  • Salt 
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1/2 lb. pasta, tubular pasta works best. Penne, garganelli, rigatoni would all work just fine 
  • 1 tsp Red pepper flakes, or more to taste
  • Freshly grated Parmesan for the table 

 

Instructions:

  1. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/medium low heat, add onion and cook until it's a pale gold color. 
  2. Add the sausage and cook until it loses its raw red color, about 6-8 minutes. 
  3. Add garlic and stir until garlic becomes fragrant about 1 minute.
  4. Add the cream, ⅛ of tsp of freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and black garlic paste. Mix well and simmer gently while you get your pasta cooked and ready. You want the cream to thicken up to become a velvety sauce. 
  5. Taste for salt
  6. When pasta is al dente transfer from the boiling water right into the sauce. Mix very well while the pasta finishes cooking, about 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately with parmesan on the table.